

LitReading - Classic Short Stories
Don McDonald
Litreading brings classic short stories to life—expertly narrated with care, clarity, and just enough character to keep things lively. From Poe to Twain, Wolfe to Hemingway, each episode features a complete tale designed for immersive, thoughtful listening in a few minutes to an hour.In addition to timeless tales from the past, explore New Tales Told—a podcast of original short stories that echo the tone and texture of the classics, but are entirely new. Search New Tales Told wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 5, 2025 • 28min
The White Heron–A Classic Short Story by Sarah Orne Jewett
This tale flips the traditional "boy meets girl" fairy-tale narrative by introducing a strong-willed nature loving girl who puts her own desires and beliefs ahead of those of a young man she meets in the woods.The child of a rural family doctor in Maine, Sarah Orne Jewett was writing short stories professionally from age 18. Most of her work was purchased by The Atlantic magazine, with the glaring exception of "The White Heron." The story went of the become the title piece of her first book and her most popular story. A Survey. A Dream. A Better Ad?Somewhere out there is an ad you won’t hate.And this brief, slightly soul-sucking survey might help me find it.t’s optional. But I’d be forever grateful. Or at least for like, a week.http://bit.ly/litreadingclassicshortstories-surveyThanks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 5, 2025 • 6min
Before the Law–A Classic Short Story by Franz Kafka
Here is a story for those times when you only have a few minutes for a story. While not long itself, this incredibly Kafkaesque parable may leave you pondering its meaning long after you have listened to "Before the Law."Bohemian author Franz Kafka is considered one of the greats. Few storytellers have had their names turned into adjectives. Orwellian, maybe Hitchcockian come to mind. But the best known of these is Kafkaesque, whose meaning is elusive, like that of many Kafka stories. I have my own somewhat religious interpretation of “Before the Law.” I will leave it to you to ponder your own. A Survey. A Dream. A Better Ad?Somewhere out there is an ad you won’t hate.And this brief, slightly soul-sucking survey might help me find it.t’s optional. But I’d be forever grateful. Or at least for like, a week.http://bit.ly/litreadingclassicshortstories-surveyThanks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 5, 2025 • 39min
The Prophet - Part One–A Classic Novel by Khalil Gibran
The podcast discusses the profound words of The Prophet, exploring themes of love, joy and sorrow, the metaphor of houses, and the true nature of beauty. It encourages listeners to follow love, reflect on the interconnection of joy and sorrow, embrace the boundlessness of space, and find joy in feeling the earth beneath their feet.

Sep 5, 2025 • 39min
The Prophet - Part Two–A Classic Novel by Khalil Gibran
Here is the second half of Kahlil Gibran's global bestselling book with sage advice on pain and pleasure, good and evil, and the inevitability of death. A Survey. A Dream. A Better Ad?Somewhere out there is an ad you won’t hate.And this brief, slightly soul-sucking survey might help me find it.t’s optional. But I’d be forever grateful. Or at least for like, a week.http://bit.ly/litreadingclassicshortstories-surveyThanks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 2, 2025 • 30min
The Church With an Overshot Wheel–A Classic Short Story by O. Henry
Loneliness can grind a man down like a millstone—yet grief, transformed, can become the miller’s divine salvation. A widowed man turns a forgotten mill into a memorial for his lost little girl, and fate brings a stranger—fragile, secretive—who just might be the miracle he’s been waiting for.He called himself O. Henry, but the man behind the pen was William Sydney Porter—a sneaky little Texan with a mustache, a wicked sense of irony, and a knack for surprise endings that snap like mousetraps. He wrote hundreds of short stories while dodging his past, which included a stint as a pharmacist, a failed bank career (let’s just say the books didn’t balance), and yes, a little time behind bars. But prison gave him a pen name and plenty of time to dream up twisty tales of crooks with hearts of gold, lovers with bad timing, and small moments that change everything.A Survey. A Dream. A Better Ad?Somewhere out there is an ad you won’t hate.And this brief, slightly soul-sucking survey might help me find it.t’s optional. But I’d be forever grateful. Or at least for like, a week.http://bit.ly/litreadingclassicshortstories-surveyThanks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 29, 2025 • 12min
August Heat–A Classic Short Story by W. F. Harvey
Record summer temperature’s take their toll on both our physical and mental health. Extreme weather has been known to bring about strange and often dangerous behavior among those suffering its effects. How strange, I’ll let you be the judge in our special summer tale, August Heat. A Survey. A Dream. A Better Ad?Somewhere out there is an ad you won’t hate.And this brief, slightly soul-sucking survey might help me find it.t’s optional. But I’d be forever grateful. Or at least for like, a week.http://bit.ly/litreadingclassicshortstories-surveyThanks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 29, 2025 • 8min
The Story of an Hour–A Classic Short Story by Kate Chopin
Grief and heartbreak are the typical reactions to the loss of a loved one, but other emotions may lurk within. A Survey. A Dream. A Better Ad?Somewhere out there is an ad you won’t hate.And this brief, slightly soul-sucking survey might help me find it.t’s optional. But I’d be forever grateful. Or at least for like, a week.http://bit.ly/litreadingclassicshortstories-surveyThanks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 29, 2025 • 9min
The Eyes Have It–a Classic Short Story by Philip K. Dick
So far, all of our public domain stories were created prior to 1925. However, there are a few newer tales that are no longer copyright protected. From one of the world’s best science fiction writer’s comes a tale of idioms and aliens.Essentially, this story is a long dad joke. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I, a dad, did.Even if you don’t know his name, you know the work of Philip K. Dick. Several of his books and stories have been adapted into movies and Tv shows like: Total Recall, Minority Report and Man in the High Castle. He died in 1982 of a stroke just four months before his blockbuster movie, Blade Runner opened. A Survey. A Dream. A Better Ad?Somewhere out there is an ad you won’t hate.And this brief, slightly soul-sucking survey might help me find it.t’s optional. But I’d be forever grateful. Or at least for like, a week.http://bit.ly/litreadingclassicshortstories-surveyThanks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 29, 2025 • 12min
The Looking Glass–a Classic Short Story by Anton Chekov
On a cold New Year’s Eve, Nellie peers into a mirror, searching for a glimpse of her happily-ever-after. Instead, the glass betrays her—offering not romance, but a haunting vision of what marriage might truly hold: struggle, sickness, disappointment. Chekhov doesn’t give us a fairy tale—he gives us the nightmare behind the dream.Anton Chekhov was Russia’s great observer of the quiet tragedies hiding in ordinary lives. A doctor by trade and a writer by necessity, he had an uncanny ability to turn small moments into revelations. His plays reshaped modern theater, his stories redefined the short form, and together they whispered a timeless truth: life is never as simple—or as sweet—as we hope it to be.A Survey. A Dream. A Better Ad?Somewhere out there is an ad you won’t hate.And this brief, slightly soul-sucking survey might help me find it.t’s optional. But I’d be forever grateful. Or at least for like, a week.http://bit.ly/litreadingclassicshortstories-surveyThanks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 29, 2025 • 39min
Love in the Night–a Classic Short Story by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A young man's longing for love is briefly fulfilled on one moonlight evening on the sea off the coast of Cannes. A Survey. A Dream. A Better Ad?Somewhere out there is an ad you won’t hate.And this brief, slightly soul-sucking survey might help me find it.t’s optional. But I’d be forever grateful. Or at least for like, a week.http://bit.ly/litreadingclassicshortstories-surveyThanks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.